Italia

Italia: Oscar Wilde was probably a traveler or a lover of it for he has written many poems on places he had the chance to visit.

Italia Poem Text

Italia! thou art fallen, though with sheen
Of battle-spears thy clamorous armies stride
From the north Alps to the Sicilian tide!
Ay! fallen, though the nations hail the Queen
Because rich gold in every town is seen,
And on thy sapphire-lake in tossing pride
Of wind-filled vans, thy myriad galleys ride
Beneath one flag of red and white and green.
O Fair and Strong! O Strong and Fair in vain!
Look southward where Rome’s desecrated town
Lies mourning for her God-anointed King!
Look heaven-ward! shall God allow this thing?
Nay! but some flame-girt Raphael shall come down,
And smite the Spoiler with the sword of pain.VENICE.

Italia Meaning

However, Italy seems to be one of his favorites. In this poem, he writes about Italy as a woman who is broken and defeated in many respects. However, as Wilde puts it, ”

Oscar Wilde

Ay! fallen, though the nations hail the Queen

“, Italy seems to have retained her beauty, however, tainted.

Wilde describes her valleys and her cities; he describes her lakes and uses metaphors for them. Metaphors are his strongest weapons.

An illustration of the great artist!

The poet ends by saying that some Messiah or a man from God will soon descend to save her and restore back the beauty she originally had.

The Poet

Poet Oscar Wilde was a great poet and writer in the Victorian Era. His plays, Poems and Short Stories inspired a number of people in the Victorian Era. Oscar was born on 16 October 1854 in Dublin.